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Saturday, April 27, 2013

Mexican
Chicken Soup

Mexico,

Caldo de pollo, also known as Consome de Pollo, is a common
Latin-American soup made with whole chicken pieces instead of chopped or
shredded chicken, and large cuts of vegetables, such as half-slices of potatoes
and whole leaves of cabbage.

Caldo de pollo is a common Latin-American soup that consists
of chicken and vegetables.

What makes this soup
different from many other versions of chicken soup is that Caldo de pollo uses
whole chicken pieces instead of chopped or shredded chicken. Other differences
are that the vegetables are usually of a heartier cut. Potato halves, not
cubes, are used, and whole leaves of cabbage are added.

While it is common to eat Caldo De Pollo plain, most add
lemon juice or hot sauce. Some recipes call for cubed avocado added just before
eating.

Caldo De Pollo can
also be served with hot corn tortillas. In Mexico it is also common to add
steamed or boiled rice in the same bowl while serving, especially at fondas. In
other Latin American countries, it is called sopa de pollo and not caldo, which
means only broth.

Chicken soup has also acquired the reputation of a folk
remedy for colds and flu’s, and in many countries is considered a comfort food.

Whenever the weather is cold or Rainey, or when my children,
husband and I are sick with a cold or flu, I like to make Caldo de Pollo/Chicken
Soup for flu relieve or as a decongestant. It has
all the nutrients and vitamins they need and it is a delicious comfort food. I
like to make it with a side of Mexican Rice and to drink some Chamomile Tea.

I usually make it the traditional way which is with the
whole chicken, cut it into pieces and cut the vegetable into big chunks and
cook, but because I like my family to eat healthy I change the recipe just a tiny bit. It still has everything the same, but instead of
using the whole chicken I used skinless boneless chicken breast and I dice the
vegetables so my kids can eat smaller pieces and not struggle with the big
chunks.

If you like the recipe just click on the "My Recipe" tab above and you'll find it there.

Sorry I don't have any pics up, but as soon as I have them available I will post them.

Amolcajete (Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl mulcazitl) is a stone tool, the traditional Mexican version of the mortar & pestle tool, similar to the South American batan used for grinding various food products. The molcajete was used by pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican cultures, including the Aztec and Maya, stretching back several thousand years.

Traditionally carved out of a single block of vesicular basalt, molcajetes are typically round in shape and supported by three short legs.

The matching hand-held grinding tool, known as atejolote (Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl texolotl), is also made of the same basalt material. Most pre-Hispanic Mesoamerican molcajetes were made of ceramic rather than stone, especially among theAztecs.

Molcajetes are used to crush and grind spices, and prepare salsas, and guacamole. The rough surface of the basalt stone creates a superb grinding surface that maintains itself over time as tiny bubbles in the basalt are ground down, replenishing the textured surface.

The new basalt molcajete needs to be "broken in" because small grains of basalt can be loosened from the surface when it is first used and this will give an unpleasant gritty texture to the first few items prepared in it. A simple way to do the initial "seasoning" is to grind white rice in the molcajete, a handful at a time. When the crushed rice flour has no visible grains of basalt in it, the molcajete is ready to use. Some rice flour may remain ground into the surface of the molcajete; this will cause no problem.

As the porous basalt is impossible to fully clean and sanitize, molcajetes are known to "season" (much like cast iron skillets), carrying over flavors from one preparation to another. Salsas and guacamole prepared in molcajetes are known to have a distinctive texture, and some also carry a subtle difference in flavor, from those prepared in blenders. Molcajetes can also be used as a cooking tool, where it is heated to a high temperature using an open fire or hot coals, and then used to heat its food contents. Although true molcajetes are made of basalt, imitations are sometimes made of a mixture of pressed concrete and volcanic rock particles.

Molcajetes are also used as serving dishes in restaurants and homes. While recipes are usually not stewed or otherwise cooked in them, the molcajete stays hot for a very long time, and it is not unusual for a dish to still be bubbling a half hour after serving

Tips & Warnings

According to Gourmet Sleuth there are fake lava stone mortars and pestles. They are made of concrete and crushed non-basalt river rock. This kind of mortar and pestle are very sandy or dusty and do not make a good grinding surface.

Do not use dish washing liquid or other cleaners on your Lava stone mortar and pestle. The stone could absorb the perfumes and soap and leave a funny taste in all food that you grind.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Welcome to My Recipe Blog. It's still in the works. This Blog will have my recipes that were passed on from my grandmother to my mom to me and others that were given to me from friends & family member's. Like everyone knows Most Mexican dishes are not OK on our waist line and our hearts so what I've been doing is modifying them to make them healthier whenever possible and still keep the same flavor. Most of my recipes will be Mexican/Tex-Mex, but I will also post other ethnic recipes. I will try to post a new recipe once a week. Thank you and enjoy :)